NCAAF futures: Roll with the Tide

It brings us an immense amount of joy to make this important announcement: College football is officially back in our lives this week! That's right, the 2024 college football season begins this Saturday with four "Week 0" games, which means we're running out of time to finalize our futures portfolio for the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff era. 

With the season right around the corner, let's lock in three bets on teams to make the CFP. 

Alabama to make the CFP (+100 FanDuel)

The prevailing opinion on Alabama seems to be that this team will take a step back with Nick Saban choosing to retire, but are we sure Kalen DeBoer is even a downgrade? DeBoer's sparkling college coaching resume includes three NAIA national championships and a 104-12 record in nine seasons, including a 25-3 mark in two seasons at Washington. 

The Crimson Tide is still loaded with talent, and Jalen Milroe is one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy after an encouraging 2023 campaign. Alabama also gets its two toughest opponents, Georgia and Missouri, at home this year. It might need to go just 9-3 in the loaded SEC to make the CFP.

Utah to make the CFP (+200 DraftKings)

Speaking of coaches we trust with our lives, Kyle Whittingham is one of the best in the business at the collegiate level. In 19 seasons under Whittingham, Utah has finished with a losing record only twice. The Utes somehow went 8-4 last season with shoddy quarterback play throughout the year. Starting QB Cam Rising, who led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022, is finally back under center after missing the entire 2023 campaign. 

It's surprising to see the Utes priced at +200 to make the CFP considering they're the betting favorites to win the Big 12 at +280. We'll ride the veteran coach-quarterback combo here. 

Texas A&M to make the CFP (+240 FD)

This one is more of a long shot, as a Texas A&M ticket comes with much more volatility, but we love the coaching upgrade from Jimbo Fisher to Mike Elko. Elko went 16-9 in two seasons at Duke with much less talent and won the ACC Coach of the Year award in 2022.

This projects to be one of the most ferocious defensive units in the country, and quarterback Connor Weigman threw for nearly 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns in only three full games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. Texas A&M avoids Alabama and Georgia on its schedule, and the four ranked matchups it has are all at home. 

In the news ...

Caitlin Clark breaks WNBA rookie assist record, all but locks up ROY — You might as well just give Clark the Rookie of the Year Award now. The Indiana Fever superstar dished out nine assists on Sunday in a 92-75 win against the Seattle Storm to reach 232 assists on the season, breaking Ticha Penicheiro's previous WNBA rookie record of 224. With four weeks left in the regular season, Clark is -3000 to win ROY over Angel Reese (+800). 

Bo Nix shines in first preseason start, moves closer to winning starting job — If Nix hadn't locked up the starting quarterback job for the Denver Broncos before Sunday, he surely has now. The 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft looked great in his first preseason start, going 8/9 for 80 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers. That came after Nix went 15/21 for 125 yards and a score in his first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. An official announcement from Sean Payton should be coming soon. Nix is +1300 to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Raiders name Gardner Minshew starting QB over Aidan O'Connell — Speaking of quarterback camp battles, the Las Vegas Raiders have made a final decision regarding their starting signal-caller. On Sunday, head coach Antonio Pierce named Minshew the starter over O'Connell. Minshew went 7-6 in relief of Anthony Richardson with the Colts last season, throwing for a career-high 3,305 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine picks. The Raiders are +310 to make the playoffs under Minshew this year. 

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty